Saturday 03/02
Vlog by Florence: see below.
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By me:
I wake up at 8:30am, the kids around 10am and Isabelle at… 11am!
Kids are happy to chill in the sofas.
We eat breakfast around noon.
Kids then do 2 homeschooling sessions while I work on the summary of Australia (ranking of the many activities that we did) and on backups of my pictures. I also book 2 exhibitions for tomorrow and I sort out the camper that we’ll rent as of Monday.
I then do some backups (on 2 different external hard drives and one usb key, each “stored” in different bag/suitcase). The storage of the pictures – I have already more than 130 GB of pictures for this trip – becomes a problem, due to some issues with our OneDrive (I theoretically bought 1 TB of storage for each of us before leaving). This kind of things easily ruins my mood…
We eat a salad around 4pm.
Kids chillaxnet the rest of the afternoon while Isabelle and I continue working on our laptops. Isabelle works on the programme after New Zealand. While the trip until the end of New Zealand (mid-March) was pretty much well organized, the remaining part is not organized at all (except 10 days in Galapagos in June). We need to define the dates of arrival and departure of the next countries (Chile, including Easter Island, Peru and US) in order to book the flights, preferably with the same airline.
We eat pasta around 9pm.
Today was very similar as before yesterday: a rainy day spent entirely inside the house, which is very comfortable fortunately…
I work till 3 am. I’m so relieved that, thanks to Isabelle, I could solve the problem of laptop storage capacity and upload all my pictures onto my OneDrive. It’s such a relief to know that whatever happens I will still be able to get back my pictures.
Sunday 04/02
I put the alarm clock at 8:30 am.
After breakfast, we take a Uber to go to the Auckland Musem. I booked online an admission package for the family, including a highlights tour (at 10:45am) and a Maori cultural performance (at noon). The guided tour (only us and 2 other people) is very interesting. It lasts one hour.
We learn that New Zealand was the last major land mass settled by humans, around 1250 AD. They came from Polynesia. It’s surprising how late New Zealand (1250-1300 AD) was discovered given how close they are to Australia.
The displays of Pacific Island and Maori artefacts are great viewing. Highlights included a 25m war canoe (for 70 to 100 warriors) and a carved meeting house. There’s also a display on Auckland’s volcanic field, including an eruption simulation (disappointing), and the upper floors showcase military display, fulfilling the building dual role as a war memorial.
The Maori performance, in a special amphitheatre, is nice; it includes the traditional Haka, the Maori war dance (like the one done by the All Blacks before their rugby game).
We finish around 1:30pm. We are hungry. We walk (40’) to the ‘Best Ugly Bagels’ to try their delicious hand rolled, boiled and wood-fired bagels, which are a thing of beauty. They are good.
Kids go back home, on foot, while we go to the Banksy exhibition in the Aotea Centre. As per the curator of the exhibition, “this exhibition is a one off – never will you be able to see this amount of work in one place again. Once the show is over, the artwork will dissipate back to the other 40 collectors around the world, and the likelihood of them being brought together again in the future is very slim”. Banksy is an anonymous England-based graffiti artist (and political activist). His satirical street art and subversive epigrams combine dark humour with graffiti executed in a distinctive stenciling technique. There is a quite a crowd rushing to see this exhibition before the last day on Tuesday. It’s interesting but I’m not a fan of Banksy’s work.
We go back home on foot, passing through the trendy Ponsonby Road. We stop at a Countdown (the name of the Woolies in NZ) to buy 2 hot chickens (+ some fruits). We come back home a bit before 6am.
Kids are already hungry. We eat early (7:30pm): chicken with sautéed rice and green beans.
I’m actually posting the day that we’ve lived today!!! It hasn’t happened many times before. It’s good to be up to date.
I work till 1:30am.
